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The City of Ola'Varris
"Ola’Varris is a city where you can pay twice for the same loaf of bread, and be glad to do it. It’s some damn fine bread." - Sir Mandrall Blake Across Everfall, the name Ola’Varris is evokes feelings of hope, might, and security for the realm. The City of Champions is the heart of democracy and trade, and lies as the most famous, and largest, cosmopolitan metropolis on the continent of Everfall. You’d be hard pressed to find another city this wealthy, this beautiful, this full of hope anywhere else in the world. The people that have grown up there know it as a place of culture, a place of diversity, where any creature can come and get a solid meal for a decent price. Ola’Varris was built on the back of compassion, heroes, and the true power that lies in the souls of good-willed men. The city itself was built of a period of two hundred years, by over two thousand Dwarfs, Humans, and Elves during the Era of Heroes. It lies along the Londron Coast near the Rolix Ocean; once a place of great danger, cursed by Krakens, warring armies, and inland Dragons, now turned into a place of security. The city has a long and dutiful history to the region of Doomgar, the Dwarfs, that knew how to build miraculous cities and make them prosperous focusing on both trade and housing equally the poor and rich. The City of Champions has lived in good prosperity for nearly three hundred years, and does not seem to be slowing down. Further and further, it comes into its own region, building and expanding, becoming a kingdom of its own right. Ola’Varris however, as most things tend to be, not entirely as it appears on the outside. Yes, it is the City of Champions, but if you look beneath the surface you’ll start to peer through the cracks that have formed through its long history. Along with the good, there is the unseemly. An underground criminal network that links to the farthest reaches of Everfall. A myriad of monsters that roam and steal and eat anything they can find. Various Cult groups that believe the city to be their own salvation. Ola’Varris is both an inspiration to the realm of Everfall, and an equally dark place if you don’t know where to tread lightly. The City of Champions is the home to haughty nobles, scheming merchants, hidden cults, daring sailors, and of course, the brave and intrepid Adventurers and Heroes of Everfall. Here anyone with the wildest aspirations can both see them come to life, or be destroyed under a weight of talent. Where those that dream of power, and have the means to take it, will usually find it. Or those that want to do good, and right, will often find a new cause to rise up for. As it stands now, the city is the centre of wealth and influence on the continent of Everfall. It is a predominately human city, although representatives of nearly every intelligent race do dwell within its high walls and have made their home there. It is also a city of intrigue, above all else. Burden’s Gate Dock '''promise new challenges, schemes and chances for heroism for any would be adventurer. You can find anything you need in the '''Market Place, for the right price of course. Taught Knot promises good homes to the wealthy and the heroic. SandSword '''and Arrowhead just promises good homes; here you’ll find the mansions, the wealthy, and most of the corruption that plagues the city. Speaking of plagues, you should stay away from '''Bottom Hilt, where the poorer class of people find their homes; here there are no streets, just clutters of houses cramped together. Then there’s The Sheath, built within the thickest of walls, where the decision that affect Everfall are made. The Sheath is where the Council of Champions operate from, and it is a territory of the city made of vast castles, keeps, and tall towers. To any invading force looking to break into the city, they will find the most challenge here. The Sheath has withheld against the most severe of punishment, with its justice intact. That is a very brief overview of the long history that is Ola’Varris. We haven’t even made any mention of the various factions that dwell in the city, the places that have made it famous, and the creatures that lurk beneath its belly. BUT we have begun to understand what makes this beast of a city tick, its importance to the realm, and why every adventurer should visit it at least once. Ola'Varris through History The Dondros Crusades (1095-1099 E.O.H) "I have seen horrors, I have held nightmares close, and I have witnessed the cowardice of men. Never. Never have I been to a place more corrupt. Where demons spread like wildfire, where death and destruction is absolute law. There is no other like the land of Dondros; it is a true place of evil, where only the strongest and most cunning survive. A man that steps on its darkened lands, must be more a ghoul than a man." - Chancery Greychurch Everfall was a much different place to what it is today. The kingdoms were unorganised and many. Every man had a claim to rule, but there was one such person that commanded the respect of the other regions, one who many saw as a true rule. Chancery Graychurch. The first in a long line of Kings that would rule the Kingdom of Aldor in the Further Kingdoms. Chancery was known more for his superior battle tactics, than his actual heroism. It started with a vision. Chancery was visited in the night by the Archon of Light. A recurring figure through-out the swathes of history that is Everfall. The Archon is said to bestow true knowledge and destiny, and she came to Chancery with a warning about the dreaded region of Dondros. A long-held seal that was instrumental to keeping the horrors on the land, was about to be broken, without it the demons, devils, and decrepit could march on Everfall and make their new homes there. Chancery did not underestimate his vision, and the warning from the angel. He acted. The King of Aldor built an army of just under fourteen-thousand men, along with over six hundred strong ships, and sailed them into Dondros; where he started a four-year long crusade with the nightmares that dwelled there. Chancery’s goal was to eliminate every bit of evil, but he underestimated his strength in the matter. Armies upon armies of brute and beast was waiting, every day was a struggle to get further inland. Eventually Chancery had to admit defeat, and return home with just under three hundred men. This was not the end for Chancery Graychurch however, this was just a beginning. He would have to unite the Kingdoms of Everfall if he was to be successful in defeating the upcoming onslaught. The War of Dondros (1100-1101 E.O.H) The Archon of Light, it was revealed, had not only appeared to Chancery Graychurch. She had shown herself to many of the influential leaders, and rules of Everfall at the time. One of these was King Dobluss of the Dawk; the leader of a strong group of dwarfs in the region of Doomgar. Dobluss refused the vision, and refused the fight. He claimed that the dwarves had lost enough fighting the realms of Dondros, and no more of his kinsmen were going to spill their blood. Even a visit from Chancery Graychurch himself could not sway the leader. So, forced to continue without the might of the dwarves, Chancery gathered a massive army of every abled man from every kind of race on Everfall. Most took some convincing, but there were leaders among them that came willingly. It is estimated that the Final Pass Army was just over two-hundred-thousand soldiers strong. The army met the might of Dondros at the end of the Fire Season on the year of 1100. The fight went on for one whole year. There are many accounts of what happened that year, but most have been scattered and burnt in fears of reprisal. Unquestionable and abstract horror is what these accounts entail. Stories passed from generation to generation detailing the burning of men, the corruption of man, and the brutal loss of thousands of friends across the battlefield. It is still regarded as the single largest battle in Everfall history. There has been no other since that can even compare to the mass of bodies that fought over the course of that year. The turning tide came with the appearance of King Dobluss at the end of the year-long war. His dwarven armies pushed the demons and devils back into Dondros and helped to seal their fate. He had a turn of favour when he found out that his son was killed in the fighting, defying his wishes, and sought out to avenge him. Victory in the end though, came at a cost. Chancery managed to reseal the lower continent of Dondros, but at the cost of his own life. He made a pact with blood between him and Queen of Devils. Swearing that in return for resealing the curse that held Dondros at bay, Chancery would relinquish his empire, and suffer his soul to the Nine Hells along with every one of his descendants. His final victory was the worst blow the Graychurch line has ever received. Without the leadership of Chancery to keep the peace, and with the majority loss of most of the armies on Everfall. King Dobluss saw his chance to take over, and took it. He commanded every army to lay down their arms, and proclaimed Doomgar the seat of power in Everfall. Under their rule the horrors of Dondros would never come to harm them again. To prove that vision, King Dobluss commissioned the building of a new city along the Londron Coast, one that would house the Champions of Everfall, that would rule the people fairly, and would ensure that when Dondros was free of the seal once again, they would be there to see it undone. The city was called Ola’Varris, '''named for the Old Gods of Dwarven Tribes. Ola’Varris the God of Good Fortune and Heroism. The Sheath (1101-1125 E.O.H) Many different builders from a variety of different races, ranging from Architects, to Builders, to Workers, came together to construct the city of Ola’Varris. They found a perfect place, nestled by the coast and protected from Dondros by a series of island, ranging from small to large. Here would be the perfect lookout for danger. They did, however, encounter one problem during the construction. The spot they had chosen was already inhabited by a small town. '''The Town of Diὓnren. The Dwarf ambassadors did reach an accord with the people there, rather than drive them out and away from the land, they allowed them to become the first settlers of Ola’Varris. The people asked only one thing in return, a Citadel to mark their faith. So, it was done. At the centre of the Sheath in Ola’Varris is a grand citadel dedicated to Addleack; the God of Luck, and was the first building to be constructed and finished in the city. A large wall was constructed around the city with two large gates to allow the river to flow through it and to the small town beyond. A keep was built shortly after, a great hall near the Citadel of Addleack, where the dwarves could rule the regions from, and decide on the laws that would become most prevalent. Several other buildings were erected within the keep walls, including a barracks for the guards, a hall of justice, and a castle grounds that would serve as a suitable place to rest for visiting dignitaries. A final touch to the Sheath was to be a statue of King Dobluss that would city in the middle of the river and watch over the justice happening there for all time. To this day though, the statue still sits half-constructed, thanks to the stalemate of the Blood Beard Wars. The Blood Beard Wars (1120-1129 E.O.H) "Haste have me lads, I’ll either be dyin’ by the blade, or dyin’ by the bow before any blighter takes the land that’s bin promised us. We fight and we die, by the beard!" - Captain Derison Dural It was only natural for opposition to arise against the new order of Doomgar. The dwarfs, although owning the majority of forces in the region, were finding heavy rebellion against their new rule by the Further Kingdoms and Tressa in the Far North of Everfall. This began a nine-year stalemate between the North and Southern regions of Everfall, with much of the opposing forces being comprised of Humans, Elves and unexpectedly, the Dragonborn. The stalemate was nicknamed the Blood Beard Wars thanks to the threats made by Lunray Pillaven, the Steward of Bastire; who promised that any dwarf to enter the further north would be sent home with a bloody beard and their own teeth in a bag. The stalemate reached its conclusion thanks to a clever paladin named Sir Mandrall Blake, who managed to convince the Northern Leaders to come to council with the southern regions. Which they did. They all came together at the, now completed, Sheath, and were the first diverse group of diplomats to use the city for its original benefit. A treaty was designed in the grand halls and signed by the occupants. It stated that the North and South will join together as one continent in return for a fair system of government, chosen not by the dwarfs of Doomgar. Instead the continents greatest heroes would come together in a council and decide, under the watchful eye of Kings and Leaders from all over Everfall, on the decision that would affect the populace. They would be called the Council of Champions. The treaty ended the Blood Beard Wars. It was also agreed that a new era had begun in Everfall, crossing over from the Era of Heroes to the Era of Justice, in favour of the newfound city of Ola’Varris. The Arcane Draught (1135-1202 E.O.J) "The first time I saw Ola’Varris I was coming in from the Tower of Spells, a curse had befallen the land, the world of magic was under siege, and our only hope was in the Council of Champions." - Galonswith Tibur (All-Caster Wizard) The Arcane Draught was a casualty of the Desert Wars between Draax, Tressa and the Tower of Spells. At some point after the Blood Beard Wars, Everfall gave way to its next large-scale war that took place over the Wastelands. The conflict was started by Lord Kolyvll Krayyer, a High Elf of the Krayyer Dynasty in opposition to the Mandated Travel Act through the Wastelands of the Dragonborn. The act was put into place by the Dwarves of Doomgar, to punish the small kingdom of Tressa for its disobedience of its laws. It stated that Tressa was not allowed to travel through the Wastelands, or by sea, until they submitted and signed a treaty with the dwarfs and obeyed the news laws of Doomgar. The war was massive, and eventually the Tower of Spells was brought into the skirmish by way of proximity. The All-Caster Wizard at the time, Gallonswith Tibur, helped to put an end to the rebellion of Tressa by seating all three other parties at the negotiation table through means of teleportation. The Dwarfs agreed, that if Tressa stopped recruiting for its rebellion against their rule, Tressa could continue as it is with the laws it obeys. Lord Koyvyll agreed to these terms and the war was ended. There was, however, one problem. During the war Lord Koyvll, in an attempt to figure out a way to beat back the numbers of Dragonborns and Dwarves, invested in a new magical science. A young, but very gifted wizard named Kanoraz was given the keys to an arcane well. It was the Lords hope that he would discover a solution to the problem. However, Kanoraz, although a prodigy of magic, made a mistake with the well and caused it to reverse its flow which brought on the Arcane Draught. The Arcane Draught was a period of time where magical, and magical objects, had lost a good deal of their connection to the arcane. Wizards found spells ill-effective, Sorcerers were zapped of all power, and Bards found that their music became just notes in the air. There were a lot of nasty side-effects of the draught, and it lasted for 67 years. During that time, the All-Caster Wizard Gallonswith sought out the prospering city of Ola’Varris, and consulted with their Council of Champions. In return for a pledge, with support from the Tower of Spells, Ola’Varris would in return send out its Champions to solve the crisis of the Arcane Draught. It was the first successful campaign from Ola’Varris, who solved the crisis, and it is widely believed, the first case of them inspiring hope in the citizens of Everfall. The Market Place (1203-1289 E.O.J) "People think I make gold. That’s true. People think I’m a villain. That’s also true. Ola’Varris isn’t a city for the people, or a city of wealth. It’s a city where, if you’re wise enough, cunning enough, and crazy enough, you can rise from nothing." - Casper Turther, The Second Merchant Prince. After the Sheath and Burden’s Gate Dock were completed, the dwarven builders set to work on the housing territory Bottom Hilt, and opened its gates further to the people of Everfall by opening the largest Market Place on the continent with promises of reward, gold, and plenty of trade. It became huge and prominent very quickly, and gave way to the Merchant Princes of Ola’Varris to prosper. THIS ARTICLE IS UNFINISHED, AND NEEDS TO BE UPDATEDCategory:Places